After helping Barack Obama sweep to victory in the US election, the president-elects motto of "change" was Friday declared character of the year by a monk at one of Japan's most respected temples.  Using a calligraphy brush to write the single character on a wooden platform as tourists looked on, Seihan Mori, chief monk at Kiyomizu temple in the ancient capital  of Kyoto, declared "change" to be Japan's character of the year.      The event was hosted by a Kyoto-based group that promotes the use of "kanji," the Chinese characters used in the Japanese language.      The public sent in 111,200 nominations  for the kanji of the year.      Of those, a majority 5.42 percent approved of "change," followed by "gold," suggesting the Beijing Olympics, and "fall" to show the global market decre.ase.      "I think it is an expression of the Japanese peoples wishes to see political, economic and societal changes, as they were impressed by Mr. Obama's message of change," Mori said. He added that climate change also drew people attention to the significance of "change".      The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation(JKATF) has been conducting a poll  on the year's kanii each year since 1995. Last year's top choice was 'Nise' (fake). From the first three nominated words we can see that   _  . A) Japanese people showed great concern to events of the year B) the whole world experienced a hard time last year C) Japanese people know a lot of Chinese words D) Japanese people love to follow the fashion of the world
A

A new book written by a Chinese American on her super-strict parenting - "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" has raised fierce debates in the US. Amy Chua is a Yale Law School professor and the mother of two teenage girls. She is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. In the Chinese culture, the tighter represents strength and power. In her book, Ms. Chua writes about how she demanded excellence from her daughters. Chua writes that her daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to go on a date, be in a school play, watch TV or play computer games. They couldn't choose their own after-class activities or get any grade less than an A. They had to play piano or violin - and no other musical instruments.     She writes that if a Chinese child gets a B - which she says "would never happen" - there would be "a screaming, hair-tearing explosion." She describes making her 7-year-old daughter play a piano piece perfectly - yelling and not letting her leave the bench even to use the bathroom - until it was. Many people have criticized Amy Chua. Some say her parenting methods were abusive. She even admits that her husband, who is not Chinese, objected to her parenting style. But she says that was the way her parents raised her and her three sisters. Stacy Debroff, who has written four books on parenting, says Amy Chua's parenting style is not limited to Chinese families. She says it represents a traditional way of parenting among immigrants seeking a better future for their children. But she also sees a risk. When children have no time to be social or to follow their own interests, they might not develop other skills that they need to succeed in life. Stacy Debroff advises parents not to just repeat the way they were raised. Alison Lo, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Washington's Bothell campus, said. "I don't think Amy is advocating a best practice of parenting style, or that success and achievements are critical yardsticks of a good life. But I can imagine how strong her daughters' college... What are Sophia and Louisa allowed to do? A) Getting an A minus B) Playing the guitar C) Dating with boys D) Playing the piano
D

Women work harder than men at university and get better degrees as a result, according to a study at Brunel University. The research, which followed 200 students for four years, found that women consistently outperformed men in their studies even though they had started their courses with almost identical A-level grades. An analysis of the results showed that while 65 percent of female graduates were awarded, only 35 percent of male graduates did as well. Girls are known to outperform boys at school, but this research showed that trend continued at university. Fiona Smith, who led the research, said, "The research shows that the difference has something to do with schools in general." "It also shows something about the inequality for working women in terms of pay and promotion. Women work harder at school, harder at university, and do better at both, but they still receive less pay." The research found that female students were more faithful, less likely to miss lectures, and more likely to believe that their marks reflected their abilities than male students. Female students were also more likely to ask for and receive support from their professors. Women were also more likely to choose their universities because they liked the courses offered. In contrast, men were more likely than women to miss lectures due to "other affairs" and "laziness", and to believe that playing sports was an important part of university life. Generally, people think that women's success comes from more emphasis on coursework, but the research showed that female geographers at Brunel did better in their exams than in their coursework. Dr Smith said, "Most women feel that getting good grades is the most important part of university life. They believe that they need to work harder in order to compete in the male-dominated   environment they will encounter at work. Good grades are viewed as an 'insurance policy' for success. Men, on the other hand, prefer going out and playing sports to academic work." "This research shows how... The research at Brunel University showed that women   _  . A) did worse than men both at school and at university B) got better grades than men C) paid little attention to their courses D) often missed classes

B